DharMag February 2016 Lasagna alla bolognese with ragù and besciamella: the perfect recipe

But today we are going to make the real, authentic bolognese lasagna with ragù and bèchamel, the super creamy- meaty one, made strictly with spinach pasta.

But what is exactly lasagna?

A brick of pasta seasoned with ragù and bechamel?

More or less…It’s a traditional recipe from Bologna a sumptuous rainbow of green pasta layers stacked one above the other, seasoned with plenty of bolognese ragù, bèchamel and Parmigiano Reggiano and then cooked in the oven.

Sounds cool, right?

But we have to warn you, making lasagna at home is not so easy or better it’s a long process.

Each step of the recipe, in fact, requires calm and dedication, so take you time and make ragù in advance. You can also freeze it and store for a couple of months.

Now, enough talking, try this recipes of a great Italian restaurant and the effort will be richly rewarded by the enthusiasm of your family when you’ll take a gorgeous lasagna to the table.

Lasagna bolognese ingredients

For the pasta layers

2 eggs

230 grams of flour

30 grams spinach, well drained and chopped

For making bolognese ragù

25 grams of butter

50 grams of parma ham or chopped bacon

250 grams of ground beef

250 grams of minced pork

500 grams canned tomatoes (pelati)

1 chopped onion

1 piece of chopped celery

1 chopped carrot

1 glass of dry white wine

2 glass of broth

extra virgin oil

salt, pepper, a hint of nutmeg

For making a classic, medium density bèchamel

40 grams of butter

40 grams of flour

1/2 liter of milk

salt, white pepper

Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

How to make the real Lasagna alla Bolognese

The most important step is to prepare ragù in advance, so you can take care of bèchamel and pasta with ease. Here you can find a step by step recipe for making bolognese ragù, then you can come back here for the second phase of our lasagna project.

Now, about bèchamel sauce: melt butter on low heat in a thick saucepan, then pour flour and stir with a wooden spoon, being careful to not burn it.

Pour milk little by little, keep stirring, season with a pinch of salt and pepper and add a sprinkle of nutmeg. Let is simmer for 5 minutes, constantly stirring.

For making pasta, here’s another great recipe for you, we’ve warned you this in not a walk in the park… Pay attention, the real recipe requires a bit of boiled spinach, so chop them and add to the flour/eggs mix before knead like a pro.

When the dough is ready, roll it out and cut it of the same the size of your baking dish, let’s say that a 20X20X4 cm is ok for 4-6 servings.

Now boil all your lasagna layers for 3 minutes, 2 or 3 at a time, we don’t want to completely cook them!

Drain and quickly put them in a bowl of cold salted water, then put them on a towel.

Grease your loyal baking dish with 10 grams of butter.

Lay down the first layer of your lasagna and season with abundant meat sauce, bèchamel sauce and Parmesan cheese.

Then continue for five layers and finish with bèchamel and grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

Cover tightly with tinfoil and bake lasagna at 180°C-200°C for 10 minutes, the take away the tinfoil and cook for 15 more minutes.

Remove from oven and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.

If you are not in the mood for green lasagna or you don’t like spinach you can
make a simple white dough lasagna.

What wine goes well for lasagna alla bolognese?

To create the right harmony with the dish we need a full body wine, with firm tannins and a round fruit that can withstand the shock of meat sauce and béchamel: Sangiovese Superiore Primosegno, from organic winery Villa Venti, is a beautiful wine for depth and drinkability, one of the best lasagna wine you can find around!